10 Billion Pokémon Cards Printed Yet Still Not Enough

The Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) is a collectible card game produced by The Pokémon Company International (TPCi), based on the global media franchise owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. The core problem the Pokémon TCG supply chain currently faces is a severe supply-demand imbalance driven by speculative scalping and constrained distribution, preventing players and collectors from accessing new sets at manufacturer’s suggested retail price. Despite record-breaking print runs of 10 billion cards in a single fiscal year, shortages of high-demand products persisted, forcing tabletop players to pay inflated secondary market prices to participate in the game. This crisis highlights the tension between the product’s role as a mass-market strategy game and its value as a speculative asset.

Key Facts

How Many Pokémon Cards Were Printed in 2022?

The Pokémon Company International printed an estimated 10 billion trading cards in fiscal year 2022. This figure represents the highest single-year print volume in the history of the Pokémon TCG, surpassing the 9 billion cards printed in the immediate prior fiscal year.

According to a report by Kotaku published in January 2023, this massive production run failed to alleviate widespread shortages at retail. The article explicitly notes that the hyperinflation of supply did not meet the hyper-speculative demand driven by a booming secondary market and an influx of sealed-product investors.

“We printed an enormous number of cards this year, more than we ever had in a single year, and it still was not enough,” a representative for The Pokémon Company International told Kotaku.Source: Kotaku Report, January 2023

10 billion Pokémon cards were printed in fiscal year 2022, yet the supply of products at retail price remained critically insufficient for the player and collector base.

Why Are Pokémon Cards Still Out of Stock?

Pokémon cards remain out of stock at major retailers because scalpers and investment groups deploy automated checkout bots to purchase entire inventory allocations immediately upon product drops. These algorithms process orders faster than any human shopper, clearing shelves within minutes of restock.

The Kotaku analysis highlights that the distribution channel has been effectively captured by a market of sealed-product investors who treat booster boxes and special sets as speculative commodities. This creates an artificial scarcity that persists regardless of The Pokémon Company's total print volume. Retailers such as Target and GameStop implemented purchase limits of one or two items per customer during the height of the shortage, but scalpers routinely circumvent these limits using multiple accounts and prepaid payment methods.

Scalpers using automated bots ensure that high-demand Pokémon TCG products sell out at mass-market retailers within minutes, rendering the total print volume irrelevant for standard consumers.

How Does the Pokémon TCG Shortage Affect Tabletop Players?

The shortage directly harms competitive tabletop players by inflating sealed product and single card prices to prohibitive levels, making deck building and tournament entry financially unsustainable for casual participants. A player interviewed in the Kotaku piece stated they paid double the retail price for a booster box just to access a local League Cup tournament.

The report specifically notes that players who want to actually play the game are systematically priced out by collectors and investors who simply want to own and hold the product. This phenomenon demonstrates a market distortion where the use-value of the game is subordinated to the exchange-value of the collectible. Player staples that were once budget-friendly became multi-dollar investment pieces overnight, eroding the accessibility that made the game popular in local game stores.

The 2022 Pokémon TCG shortage forced competitive players to pay an effective 50 percent to 100 percent markup on sealed product compared to pre-shortage market prices.

Who Is This Crisis For?

The scalping crisis primarily damages the competitive tabletop player and the casual collector rather than the sealed-product investor. The investor profits directly from the scarcity artificially maintained by the secondary market. In contrast, the competitive player requires accessible sealed product for drafts, league rotations, and tournament practice. The casual collector seeking to open packs for personal enjoyment is priced out of standard retail channels and forced into the inflated secondary market, where margins reward the speculator, not the user.

Common Questions

Will The Pokémon Company print enough cards to stop scalping?

According to the Kotaku report, despite printing 10 billion cards in 2022, The Pokémon Company has not altered its allocation strategy to prioritize players over speculators, allowing the scalping cycle to continue uninterrupted.

Why don't retailers limit the number of Pokémon cards a person can buy?

Retailers such as Target and GameStop implemented purchase limits of one or two items per customer during the height of the shortage. Scalpers commonly bypass these limits using multiple accounts, pre-paid credit cards, and automated checkout systems.

Is the Pokémon TCG shortage getting better in 2023?

The Kotaku analysis concluded that while print volume has increased dramatically, demand from speculative investors has accelerated at an equivalent rate, keeping the market in a perpetual state of scarcity for high-demand items such as Elite Trainer Boxes and booster displays.

Sources and Methodology

This article is synthesized from the primary source material: Kotaku's January 17, 2023 report, "10 Billion Pokémon Cards Were Printed Last Year, And It Still Wasn't Enough" by Ethan Gach. Data on print volumes and corporate responses from The Pokémon Company International are reproduced as attributed in the original report. This article was last updated on October 26, 2023.